


Eventuality

by a_fantasia (AyuT)



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-13
Updated: 2013-07-13
Packaged: 2017-12-19 08:38:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/881728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyuT/pseuds/a_fantasia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>How can you fall in love in three days?</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eventuality

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted [here](http://shoneenclub.livejournal.com/97424.html) and [here](http://a-fantasia.livejournal.com/33929.html).

How can you fall in love in three days?  
  
It was the typical thing to happen in a typical romance movie. Two people meet because of a coincidence and end up coexisting in an awkward situation; they are uncomfortable and don’t like each other at first, but then something happens that makes one of them fall for the other; one of them (most times the one who hasn’t realized yet about their real feelings) does something wrong that hurts the other and causes so much drama; however, no matter what happens next, there’s always some way the two of them can be together, often getting married and whatnot.  
  
Sho’s story met most of those requirements:  
\- He had known someone because of a coincidence;  
\- they hadn’t quite liked each other at first (or rather Sho hadn’t trusted him), but somewhere in the middle one of them (perhaps both) had started to feel something;  
\- he had done something wrong, which led to misunderstandings that only made things worse;  
\- but, in the end, nothing was certain.  
  
Sho woke up before the alarm clock went off. Through the curtains he saw the morning sky, turning a pale shade of blue as the sun raised, slowly but unstoppably, over the sea. The time was coming, it was closer by every second, and he wasn’t ready to leave at all. Sure, all his belongings were packed, waiting at the foot of the bed; he only had to get up, put his clothes on and take everything to his car. He would drive for a couple of hours, maybe a little more if he decided to stop and have a coffee on his way —his stomach rumbled at the thought of some breakfast and he tried to muffle the sound with his hands—, and then he would be back in the city.  
  
However, he still clung to the hope that, at any moment, Nino would come back. His things were still in the house, after all.  
  
Sho climbed out of bed and stretched his arms. Looking at the bedside table, he found a note that he had written before going to sleep. He unfolded it and read his awful handwriting; he had been too anxious at the moment to write calmly, but at least everything was there, all the feelings he had discovered the previous evening.  
  
 _Nino,  
  
Even though it’s late, and I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, I want to say that I’m sorry. Perhaps it’s not enough right now, but that’s what I feel. I wish I had realized before about your feelings, especially now that I know that I like you too.  
  
I had a good time with you. I won’t forget about it._  
  


_Sho-san._

  
A crumpled music sheet was also next to it. Sho read it affectionately for the last time, the melody still echoing in his memories, and, together with his note, he shoved it inside the guitar case leaning against the wooden closet. Hopefully that would be enough.  
  
After getting dressed, he sat on the mattress and waited for a while, the sun illuminating the room more brightly as minutes passed. Seeing that nobody was coming yet and he couldn’t stay any more time, Sho had to resign and leave.  
  
He had never felt so guilty before.  
  
How can you fall in love, this hard, in three days?  
  


\---

  
The first day, Sho thought he would never arrive. He had taken off his sunglasses and was squinting frantically at the trees on the right side of the winding, narrow road. At the opposite side, the sea, its surface gleaming with the sunlight, was the only sign that made him sure it had to be near, because the coast was exactly like he had seen it in that site. He reduced the speed and drove his car to the edge of the road. Once again, he had a look at the brochure he had been given at the office.  
  
He had expected somebody from the agency to come with him and show him around, but he only found this tall, slender guy who gave him a set of keys and this brochure with a little map that had just been proven to be useless. Instead, Sho looked at the picture in the front cover, which showed a log cabin on a slope. From its small garden there was a path that led to the road where he was supposedly driving. Having a closer look at it, there was a rock with a considerable size next to where the path started; he decided to go on and look for that. Five minutes later, he had found it.  
  
The trees were too overgrown, and covered a good part of the house, so Sho couldn't see it properly until he parked his car next to the rock and started walking up the slope. A gentle breeze coming from the sea made the leaves rustle; the temperature was pretty good for a late June day at almost 12pm. Sho stopped in the middle of the path, closed his eyes and breathed. This place gave such peaceful vibes he was sure we would like it. He was happy to have found such a good offer.  
  
He took the keys out of his pocket when he reached the gate of the fence encircling the garden, but he found he didn't need them —it was already open. However, he made sure it was firmly closed after he had entered. There was nothing in the garden, except for an old dusty bench and some short bushes. Sho walked past them to get to the house.  
  
The little steps leading to the porch creaked a little under his weight. He took the smallest key in the set and put it into the lock. The door clicked and opened instantly.  
  
“Anybody could break in like this,” he said in a low voice, worried.  
  
He took his bags inside and pushed the door after him, checking, like he had done before with the gate, that it was properly locked.  
  
The first thing he did afterwards was checking out the rooms. In the first floor, was the kitchen, to the right of the hall, and a spacious living room, to the left. In the middle, next to the stairs that led to the upper floor, there was a little toilet. The steps on the stairs creaked a bit less than the ones outside when Sho went up. There was a small corridor with three doors; two to the left, leading to the only bedroom in the house and the main bathroom, and a crystal one to the right, through which Sho could see a huge balcony with a wooden table and chairs, all covered by a big umbrella.  
  
He went immediately for the bedroom. He threw his bags on the bed and sat down, looking around. There was a matching set of furniture —a closet, a bedside table and a chest of drawers, together with the bed he was sitting on. Sho got to his feet and walked towards the window; he drew the curtains to reveal an astonishing view of the sea and an endless horizon. After contemplating it for some minutes, he decided to have a shower. He rummaged through his bags until he found a towel and clean underwear; he took off his clothes and threw them haphazardly to the floor on his way to the bathroom. He was unbuttoning his jeans when the door opened and a man came out.  
  
“AH!” Sho screamed, pointing at him.  
  
“AH!” the man mirrored him.  
  
“Who are—?” Sho started, but halfway through his question he realized. “You are — Ninomiya—”  
  
“Kazunari, yes,” the man smiled, bowing a little.  
  
Sho was speechless. His hair was all wet and disheveled, and his clothes weren't what anybody would call classy, but it was definitely him. He was standing in the corridor of a log cabin in the middle of a mountain, shirtless and almost showing his pants to Ninomiya Kazunari, the extremely famous actor his sister was mad for, who had just came out of the bathroom when he was about to go inside and was right in front of him, apparently staring at his naked chest with a new interest. There had to be a hidden camera somewhere. Sho was thinking of starting to wave his hand at the corners of the ceiling when Ninomiya spoke again.  
  
“And your name is?” he asked.  
  
“Sakurai,” Sho said with eyes wide open. “Sakurai Sho.”  
  
It felt surrealistic to stretch his hand and shake the actor's.  
  
“So...” Ninomiya said, walking into the room and peeking at Sho's bags, like searching for something among them. “Who do you work for? Have you been given permission for this by my agency? How did you find that I—”  
  
“Excuse me?” Sho interrupted him, while hurriedly picking up his clothes. “I don't know what you're talking about. I rented this place for three days and three nights.”  
  
“No, I'm sorry,” Ninomiya replied politely, taking a bag out of the closet. “ _I_ rented it.”  
  
He drew out some papers and showed them to Sho, who read them, frowning. His papers were inside his bag. He let the actor have a look at them too. They compared them; they were exactly the same, except for the blank where their respective names were written.  
  
“Let's hope this is just negligence and we're not being swindled,” Sho said, sighing. He put his t-shirt back on; the actor's gaze was too direct and powerful it was hard even to look back at him. “In any case, we should call the office immediately, shouldn’t we?”  
  
Ninomiya nodded pensively and dialed quickly on his cell phone.  
  


\---

  
Both picked up their bags and took them out to the hall just in case. Then they went out to sit at the porch, where they waited for a responsible from the agency to arrive. According to what Ninomiya was told, it was the only person available in that moment, so Sho wasn't surprised when he saw the same guy who had attended to him before waving from the other side of the fence. The actor made as if he was going to open it for him, but Sho was first. The man was panting very hard; there was a bicycle in the path behind him.  
  
“I'm so sorry,” he said, bowing to them while leaning on his knees. “There must have been a problem in the server when you made your reservations.”  
  
Sho intended to be condescending and listen to what he had to say, but Ninomiya took advantage of his silence and hit directly to the point, his voice cutting the air like a sharp blade. It sounded as though he was rather annoyed. The man from the office kept his head ducked as he spoke.  
  
“Then how are you planning to solve this problem? How will your company compensate us?”  
  
Sho looked from the frozen man to the actor. Even though his words were so harsh, he looked quite relaxed, his face expressionless and his hands inside his pockets, as if he was already used to going through this kind of trouble or didn’t really care about it. For a second, if that hadn't been absurd by the nature of the situation they were in, Sho could have sworn he was acting.  
  
However, apart from his way of showing it, nobody could say he wasn't right at getting angry. Sho himself had a bad temper, though in that moment his indignation was eclipsed by the shock he hadn't still recovered from.  
  
“Look, let's have a seat and talk it through,” Sho suggested, “ _calmly_ ,” he added, casting a brief look at the actor.  
  
They went to the kitchen. As the man from the office sat down in front of them, Sho noticed he was slightly shaking. He was likely to be no more than a scapegoat the true people responsible of this situation were using to take care of their mistake. After realizing this, he felt even less like arguing; he only wanted a satisfactory solution.  
  
“My name is Aiba Masaki,” the man said, handing two business cards to them over the table. “I've been sent here, in the first place, to apologize for the inconvenience we caused. We are sure this is a problem occasioned by a failure in the system that...”  
  
Ninomiya spent all this while looking at other places; first the ceiling, then the lines on the tablecloth and finally out the window, as if thinking about something else. Despite considering this a totally impolite gesture, Sho found it really hard not to get distracted himself. However, as soon as the word 'solutions' was uttered, both turned their heads quickly.  
  
“If you'd like,” Aiba went on after clearing his throat, aware that they were _now_ paying attention to him, “one of you can stay here, while the other will be provided, free of additional charge, with another house to stay at—”  
  
“Wait, how do you expect us to take that decision?” Ninomiya cut him. “I like this place.”  
  
Sho nodded. He liked it too. After all, he had carefully searched for a good place to have the relaxing long weekend he had been preparing for the last months, starting as soon as he was told when he was having days off this year, and this one was perfect for that purpose. He remembered the view from the bedroom window, and decided he wouldn't leave, no matter what.  
  
Aiba looked down in silence, obviously hesitating about what to answer, a slight grimace on his face.  
  
“I'm staying,” Sho said, and at the same time he heard Ninomiya muttering the same words.  
  
Aiba's eyes widened in surprise, but then he resumed his explanation.  
  
“There's another option...” he said, not very convinced. “If you agree, Ninomiya-san, Sakurai-san, you can share this house.”  
  
There was a pause in which both clients surveyed each other.  
  
He had only known him for like 30 minutes, but Sho already had the feeling that Ninomiya Kazunari was a very peculiar person. The way he seemed to be accepting and, at the same time, questioning everything was, at least, mysterious. Sho couldn't deny the prospect of spending three days with him alone made him slightly uncomfortable, but on the other hand the house was big enough for them to have enough personal space and, besides, as long as they didn't interfere with each other's activities, it should be fine.  
  
“I don't mind.”  
  
Ninomiya sighed resignedly, though Sho would have sworn there was a little mischievous shine in his eyes.  
  
“Me neither,” he agreed as well. “But I expect a partial refund for this change.”  
  
Once again, Sho was surprised; he hadn't expected that kind of request from a superstar who probably didn't have any serious financial problems, if he had any at all. However, Aiba nodded courteously and assured him that would be done as soon as possible.  
  
While he apologized for the umpteenth time, Aiba was seen to the door by the other two. They both waved at him and took their bags back upstairs.  
  
“Ninomiya-san, shall we have lunch first?” Sho asked.  
  
“Ah, don't call me that,” the actor corrected him, “I prefer Nino.”  
  
“O-Okay,” Sho replied, trying to make a mental note to remember.  
  
“Is Sho-san fine for you?”  
  
Sho would have him rather use his surname, but that decision, like the other one, seemed to be already taken.  
  


\---

  
After eating in silence (they were both too hungry for words), Nino went upstairs, leaving Sho alone in the living room.  
  
He sank into an armchair and felt the tiredness spreading through his body. It had been a long journey, mostly because he had got lost, and then this thing happened; he hadn't even had time to go into the shower yet. He rummaged in his bag until he found a book. He had only read a couple of pages when his eyelids became heavy, and soon he had fallen asleep.  
  
The footsteps of Nino coming down woke him up; he checked his watch and saw it was already past 5pm. He was stretching his arms when the actor appeared to his right, leaning on the doorframe.  
  
“Sho-san, there's nothing for breakfast tomorrow,” he stated, his arms crossed.  
  
Sho turned his head to look at him and blinked. Okay, there was no food, but what was he expecting him to do? They were supposed not to disturb each other.  
  
“We should go to the grocery store in the village,” Nino added, walking into the room and staring at Sho.  
  
Sho suppressed a yawn. He didn’t understand why they had to go together, but anyway he didn't really feel like leaving the house. He needed to have a good rest before going out. Nino could go today; the next time he would be the one to go and buy some food.  
  
“Why don't you go—?”  
  
“I don't have a car,” Nino interrupted him, as he used to do every time he apparently read anybody's thoughts. “A friend brought me here.”  
  
Sho arched his eyebrows. It was true, there hadn't been any car parked near the path when he arrived that morning. That meant they had only his to drive around, so Nino would depend on him whenever he wanted to go somewhere. It was a big change in his plans, Sho thought, rubbing his temples. And Nino, smiling in front of him, seemed as curiously delighted with the idea as Sho was troubled.  
  


\---

  
“So... you can't drive?” Sho asked on their way to the village.  
  
Nino shook his head, laughing from the passenger seat, “I know how to drive, but right now I can't.”  
  
“Mmm? Why?”  
  
“They took my license and I'm banned for six months.”  
  
Sho looked at him from the corner of his eye as though he was dangerous. Nino laughed again.  
  
“A woman told the police I almost ran her over, but of course it was a lie. Some people would do anything to be in the spotlight,” he explained.  
  
Sho nodded sympathetically as he took a left turn.  
  
“If only they knew how it burns,” Nino added, bitterly.  
  
Sho didn’t know how to answer. Well, how could they know? Not many people’s lives were like his, and imagination wasn't probably enough.  
  
“Anyway, it's not a big deal, they just did it because they say I should be an example to— Ah, Sho-san! It was the previous turn!” Nino exclaimed, pointing through the window.  
  
Sho swore and tried to find a way to turn back, following a sign to his right.  
  
For a couple of seconds, Nino’s words lingered in his mind, and he realized, for the first time, how far he actually was from the person sitting right beside him.  
  


\---

  
“You're not wearing sunglasses or anything to cover your face?” Sho asked in a low voice as they started walking between the aisles at the store.  
  
Apparently there was nobody but them buying in that moment, but Sho didn't quite like the sensation of hanging out with such a highly recognizable person; he was sure he was bound to attract somebody's attention at any time, and consequently they would look at him too. It was like carrying a bomb, one that would explode bringing deafening fangirl screams —he had seen his sister in action, and acknowledged those people could go alarmingly crazy over this guy next to him. He just didn’t want to be there when it happened.  
  
“I'm on vacation,” was Nino's response, together with a shrug, as he calmly pushed their cart.  
  
That didn't sound very reassuring, as it wasn't exactly possible for him to suddenly stop being famous for a few days, but Sho didn’t insist.  
  
They took enough food for the remaining of their stay, and when they were approaching the checkout, Sho saw the cashier noticing Nino and attempting to fix her hair before helping them. The actor smiled at her and said hello in a whisper. Unable to speak, she just waved a shaking hand and started doing her job, slipping a couple of products free of charge into their plastic bags. She did everything without taking her eyes off him, and finally, when Sho and Nino were about to leave, she gathered the courage to ask him for an autograph.  
  
“At least she didn't scream,” Sho thought.  
  


\---

  
“Do you know how to cook?”  
  
It was Nino's turn to ask; as he did so, he looked questioningly at Sho over the fridge door.  
  
“Yes...” Sho answered slowly, trying to recall the last time he had cooked at home. He was usually all day away at the editorial office he worked at and didn’t get home until late night, so he preferred using the microwave and having ready-cooked food.  
  
“But you're not really used to do it, is that it?” Nino laughed, deducing again his thoughts.  
  
“I have my own style,” Sho tried to defend himself, speaking proudly.  
  
He could tell Nino didn't trust him to be very reliable, but, even so, he gave him an opportunity.  
  
“Okay, let's try miso soup in your style,” Nino said, passing the ingredients to him.  
  
Sho started working right away, determined to prepare a good meal. However, Nino, instead of working on his own dish, stood all the time behind him, his arms crossed, as if pondering over something or rather spacing out. Sho added the chopped ingredients to the boiling water before turning to talk to him.  
  
“Are we only having miso soup for dinner?” he inquired, a bit of annoyance in his tone.  
  
“Eh?” Nino started, blinking. “Ah, no, I was just checking out that nice ass you've got.”  
  
Sho didn't take in any of those unexpected words at first. He just turned back around and stirred the soup with a spoon while laughing stupidly, convinced that it was a joke. He only stopped when he felt Nino's body pressed against his back, his mouth right next to his ear.  
  
“I actually mean it. As many people know and others suspect, _I'm gay_ ,” he said suggestively. Sho felt a shiver running down his spine. “And you happen to be my type.”  
  
He giggled, then patted Sho's butt before starting with his cooking.  
  


\---

  
They didn't have any conversation again through dinner. Nino seemed to be thinking really hard about something (Sho hoped this time it was for real and he wasn’t checking any other part of his body), and Sho was too confused to say anything. He didn't have any problem whatsoever with him being gay; Ohno Satoshi, his best friend at work, also liked men, and that had never been a problem. But maybe it was because, in the 6 years they had known each other, Ohno had never made any comment about his “nice ass”, and much less patted it like that. It was just they way Nino said things; they were always like a blow, and sometimes it was so hard to know how to take it, as if he was being especially complicated on purpose. They had only been together for half a day and there was already a weird atmosphere between them.  
  
But things almost took a worse turn later, when they went upstairs to the bedroom and remembered there was only one bed in the house. It didn't appear to bother Nino, as he immediately began to take off his clothes. Sho, however, wasn’t really sure. Some hours ago, he would have considered sharing it as well, since it was king-sized, but after what happened in the kitchen he thought the sofa was a good option too.  
  
“You have it,” he told Nino, avoiding a discussion, and took his stuff downstairs.  
  
“Good night.”  
  
The actor observed him quietly, almost incapable of hiding a mischievous grin.  
  


\---

  
“Yeah, yeah, I'm not making it up, he's here, listen to his breath!”  
  
Five minutes before opening his eyes, Sho was sure Nino had turned on the TV and, from what he could tell in his state of half-consciousness, he was watching a drama, in which a heated argument was going on. Apparently, somebody had been called a liar. The volume was so high he could hear the voices of the actors as if they were right next to him.  
  
“So what?!” an arrogant voice said. It sounded metallic and distant, like coming from a phone receiver.  
  
It was then when Sho realized, first, that there was no TV in the house; second, that one of the voices was suspiciously familiar and, third, that there had been, in fact, a cell phone pressed to his face. He sat up at once and glanced around at the living room in the house he was sharing with Ninomiya Kazunari (now “Nino”), the actor, who was now right there, yelling to somebody on his cell phone.  
  
“It means that he's just woken up and we're going to _make out_ before breakfast, so I don't have time to waste speaking to you while I could be _kissing him_ instead!” he muttered angrily, and hung up. Then he flung himself to an armchair, exhaling noisily, and turned to look at Sho. “Good morning! I didn't have the intention to wake you up like that. Sorry.”  
  
Sho frowned. What had just happened? He slowly remembered about the day before, how they had been cooking together and Nino had proclaimed himself as a gay man who liked Sho's butt, and felt his face flushing at the way Nino had said he wanted to “make out before breakfast” and “kiss him” seconds before. To make it worse, a chilly breeze made him get gooseflesh, and with that he realized that, once again, he was shirtless in front of him.  
  
“What's all this about?!” he exclaimed, jumping to get the t-shirt lying on the floor next to the sofa and hastily pulling it on. “Why was I half-naked like that?”  
  
“Oh, you were already like that when I came downstairs,” Nino explained. “Come to think of it, I should have taken a picture. You were gorgeous.”  
  
“W-Who were you talking to, anyway?” Sho changed the topic, feeling totally embarrassed about his habit of stripping off while sleeping. “And why were you saying that about us?”  
  
“Nevermind,” Nino replied, the smile suddenly wiping off his face. “Don't worry; I won't do any of what I said to you. That is, unless you're willing to—”  
  
“Look, if this is any kind of joke, you're going a bit too far,” Sho complained, visibly annoyed.  
  
“It's not a joke,” Nino quickly answered. “At least what I'm saying to you is true.”  
  
As it happened with most things Nino had said over the last 24 hours, Sho wasn't quite convinced, but he didn't want to start a quarrel either. They stared at each other until Nino jumped from his seat.  
  
“Come on,” Nino said, pulling his hand and taking him towards the kitchen. “Eat the breakfast I prepared, and let's go to the beach.”  
  


\---

 

Sho put on his trunks and a worn-out shirt, then took his shades, a towel and a small bottle of sun lotion and threw everything into a bag. Nino was waiting for him outside, leaning against his car and completely absorbed by his DS.

Even though it had been his idea, Sho didn't think his outfit choice was very appropriate for their purpose. He was wearing long, blue linen trousers, an unbuttoned white shirt over a light yellow tank top and a greyish scarf around his neck, which looked quite hot and uncomfortable, almost as much as the elegant shoes he was wearing as well. At least, to Sho's relief, he was wearing a hat this time.

“Let's go,” he told him, though he was a little worried about how the two of them would stick out walking around in such different clothes.

The nearest beach was packed, and even before Nino asked him to Sho decided to go on driving until he found a fairly deserted one. There were small groups of people next to where they parked, so they headed towards the opposite direction. Sho was almost running, dreading the possibility that Nino was discovered and what he had feared in the grocery store the previous day happened today.

“Sho-san, wait!” Nino screamed behind him. He had stopped to take off his shoes so he could walk more freely on the sand. He caught up with Sho. “I didn't mean going to the beach like this,” he said, looking disgruntled. “I just wanted to have a walk around the wharf.”

“Oh, I see,” said Sho, now understanding why he was dressed like that. “You should have told me first,” he added, looking at the shore and the waves softly hitting against it. It was so hot, and the water had to be so nice... “Um, do you mind if I go in for a quick swim before we leave?”

“Okay, I'll be here,” Nino replied, putting down his shoes.

Sho let his bag on the ground and took out his towel. He extended it over the sand for Nino to sit on, and then took off his shirt and run towards the water.

It felt so good. Sho walked in until the water covered his whole body and closed his eyes, floating. He drifted along with the waves, his muscles finally relaxing after a night lying on that sofa. The bubbles in the water made funny noises next to his ears, and the sun rays tickled and caressed his skin. After a while, he started moving around, and swam for a bit. He was watching a father playing carefully with his little daughter a few meters away with a smirk on his face when a loud, high-pitched noise came from the shore.

As expected after he had been spotted getting off the car, where only Nino was sitting on his towel until the last time he checked, a couple of minutes ago, there were now a group of women, screaming, flailing and making a general fuss over him. More girls kept coming from the other side of the beach.

Sho held his breath and dived under the water, hoping that all those people had disappeared when he rose to the surface, but they had only increased when he did.

“Well, it's Nino who has to deal with them, not me,” he spoke to himself. “I won't come out until they've left.”

He had the feeling he could have already drowned when that happened, but anyhow he still waited around there, swimming across the waves. He didn't stop until, making his way from inside the group, which was now surely visible within a hundred meter radius and attracting more onlookers, were they fans or not, Nino walked down to the shore and cupped his hands at the sides of his mouth.

“Sho-chan! Over here!” he shouted, waving energetically.

Right. So now he was “Sho-chan” instead of “Sho-san”, and a hundred pairs of eyes were staring at him from the distance, eager to see what Ninomiya Kazunari's friend looked like. Scared at the mental image of all those people jumping into the water just to get him and pull him out like a hungry tribe, Sho headed resignedly towards the shore.

Nino was holding his things, and he lovingly handed his towel over to him as he reached the sand. Sho took it with a shaky hand, aware that this was the first time in his whole existence he had been observed and studied like this by such a large number of people (he wondered how Nino was capable of bearing it all the time), and used it to dry his arms and chest.

Nino stood all the time in front of him, his back to his fans, and a scheming glow in his eyes. Sho felt the blood rushing to his head and put the towel over his hair, drying it too. While doing so, he heard some comments from a bunch of teenagers near them.

“Eh? Is that his new boyfriend?”

“I hope they're going out! He's hot!”

“But what about Jun-kun?”

Sho took a step closer to ask Nino for his shirt, but instead the actor leaned towards him.

“Look at them going wild,” he whispered, and took Sho's hand in his.

It was so fast. A powerful roar emerged from the crowd, who tried to get to them, some of them taking pictures with their cell phones. Sho's ears tingled from the noise, and he squeezed Nino's hand as hard as he could, in an attempt to hold his nerves; his heart was beating like mad. There were arms coming from all directions, clutching at them, and it was becoming hard to breathe. They were shooting questions at them, some enthusiastic, others shocked, but it was impossible to make out what they were about. Then, among the crowd appeared some men with uniforms, probably security guards or local officers; they pushed the girls away so Nino and Sho could escape.

“Please, ladies!”

He followed the actor out of the circle through an opening, ducking his head to avoid the towel sliding off. People started roaring again as Nino stopped and turned around.

“Excuse us, we'd like to stay but we have arranged plans,” he announced, getting some whimpers in response. “I'm so happy to have met you all, see you soon!”

Sho saw him winking and making a salute from the corner of his eye, and despite how embarrassed, scared and upset he felt, he was amazed by him.

\---

  
Reinforcements came, and, after being assured nobody would follow them, Nino and Sho walked for a while without stopping, under the bright sun, until they reached the wharf. Sho knew his car was parked at the other side of the beach, but he didn't dare coming back that way. His hand was still grasping Nino’s firmly, though he didn't seem to have noticed, his head still reeling from the commotion.

The actor remained silent beside him, and made no complaints when, before mixing themselves with a new crowd, Sho stopped and begged him to wear the sunglasses he had brought in his bag. He just smiled condescendingly and put them on. He also complied with Sho’s request of going into the first restaurant they saw and having Nino pay for their lunch. And he didn’t refuse, either, to be totally honest with him when he demanded to know what that scene in the beach was about.

“I couldn't help them coming,” he said, while motioning for the waiter to come over. “I thought it would be safe, but turns out it wasn't.”

“Yeah, I can understand that, even though I've been afraid of it happening since yesterday,” Sho replied tiredly.

There was a pause in their conversation while the waiter took their orders. After he had left, Nino took out his cell phone and started meddling with it.

“Oh, they are so fast!” he exclaimed at the screen. “Ha! I can't wait for _him_ to see them!”

He showed Sho; there was a set of pictures of them at the beach, standing beside each other, from the moment Nino gave him the towel to the one where they were trying to get away from Nino's screaming fans. Their entwined hands were inside a red circle. In all of them, Sho's eyes were hidden by a black rectangle, though they were obscured by the towel he was wearing anyway.

“It was a good idea to put that towel on your head,” the actor laughed. “You saved these guys a lot of work.”

But Sho didn't laugh. He didn't like the thought that these pictures were spreading everywhere, being shared, reblogged and commented over and over by rabid teenagers like those he had heard. It made him feel ashamed and irritated.

“What do you get from this?” he asked, feeling the anger building inside him like hours ago. “You want more fans? Is that why you're putting me through this?”

“It's not that,” the actor answered, removing the pictures from the screen. “Not at all.”

Nino seemed genuinely sorry.

Their food was here. Sho started eating in silence.

“Look, this guy, Matsumoto Jun,” Nino began to tell him, pointing to a guy whose arm was around his shoulders in the picture he used as a background on his phone, “works for my agency.”

Sho gave him a wary look, like asking why he was telling him that, though he was sure he had heard that name somewhere. Hadn't those girls at the beach mentioned a certain “Jun-kun”?

“He's my ex,” Nino continued. “We went out for several years. But, as you can guess, it didn't work. In fact, we were only okay at the beginning.”

Sho thought he was making a pause, but Nino didn't talk for several minutes, as though he was waiting for the exact words to come to him. In the meantime, he didn't eat or drink anything; he just stared at some point over Sho's head.

“Jun changed me. Totally,” he sighed, spearing some macaroni with his fork. “He made me feel afraid of being myself.”

Sho observed him without uttering a word. It was the first time he saw him looking so unstable.

“I gradually lost the confidence I had in my private self. In the end, neither Jun or I knew who I was far from the cameras.” He swallowed and drank some water. “He said he loved Ninomiya Kazunari, but that guy wasn't me. Let me give you a good piece of advice: never work all day with your partner. It makes things get twisted in the end.”

Sho asked a waitress to bring two cups of coffee, and kept listening without speaking, not even nodding occasionally, eyes intently fixed on Nino.

“I realized that two years ago. We should have stopped then,” he smiled sadly. “But I still thought I was in love with him. I didn't know how to end our relationship either, so I let it be... He dumped me a couple of weeks ago.”

“I'm sorry,” Sho finally spoke when the coffee arrived.

“Nah, don't be,” Nino snorted. “It isn't worth it. After all, I couldn't stand him anymore. Now all I want is for him to suffer a bit.”

Sho's hand shook a bit as he put his cup back on the table.

“So this _is_ a joke? Are you using me to—?”

“Don't be silly, he won't get jealous,” Nino laughed, predicting again what he was going to say. “He just hates me being reckless. He worked so hard building my public image he doesn't want it destroyed. I say _fuck it_.”

He laughed again, harder this time, and Sho couldn't help but chuckling.

“So this morning he called, and I was just telling him how lucky I am to share a house with this handsome guy who takes me on a ride now and then,” Nino went on, animatedly, “and has hard muscles and a wonderful ass.”

Sho nearly choked with the last gulp of his coffee. He quickly hid behind his serviette.

“And now he has solid proof,” Nino smirked. He raised his hand and asked for the bill. Then he leaned over the table to look at Sho's eyes. “So it's enough. After today, I don't want you exposed like that anymore.”

Sho nodded lightly, inwardly hoping he truly meant that.

Nino winked. “So let's have some fun, shall we?”

They spent the rest of the afternoon taking a stroll around the wharf and playing games in the arcade. Fortunately, Nino wasn't recognized again, at least not by any other large group of crazy women. It was nearly at dusk when they decided to go back to the car —Sho got nervous and was about to grab Nino’s hand again— and they found the parking lot wasn't as far as they had thought when they made a detour across the beach that morning.

“Is it really okay to stay at home tomorrow?” Sho said, biting his lower lip.

“Yeah, don't worry,” Nino assured him, his hands inside his pockets. “You also came here to relax, didn't you? And you can't do that outside with me around.”

Although that was exactly what he had been thinking since the first time they went out of the house together, Sho felt a twinge of remorse. Of course Nino was conscious of what it meant for an anonymous person like him to hang out with a super famous star; behind his complex, self-centered, nonchalant facade hid an attentive, sympathetic, simple man who seemed to be misunderstood all the time.

“I didn't want to impose anything on you, though,” he clarified. “You're free to go out on your own if you feel like it.”

Any other would have done that; this wasn't a trip they had planned together from the start, anyway, so whatever Sho did would be fine. However, he didn't like the idea of going somewhere and leaving Nino behind. Since he had heard about his story with Jun a few hours ago, he felt a mixture of pity, concern and, strangely enough given his position, protectiveness towards him.

“No, I think I will stay, too,” he finally said, searching in his pocket for the car keys and opening it. “I wasn't that interested in exploring the area from the beginning.”

\---

  
Sho went out to read at the porch after clearing the dinner table. Nino, as usual, disappeared up the stairs.

It had been a nice day, all in all, despite that incident at the beach. They had had some good laughs, and learned more about each other. While having some ice cream, Sho had told him about his work as a journalist for a Tokyo newspaper and how his life was so hectic because of that. Nino seemed highly interested in his story, even though Sho would say his life was quite boring compared to that of a renowned actor.

As hours went past, his interaction with Nino became more natural. He still hadn't got used to look at his face and think that he wasn't seeing a movie, that his eyes were only fixed on him and not on a million people, and that his words were only meant for him and everything came from his heart and not from a written script.

He had given up his book and was spacing out, absentmindedly swinging back and forth in the chaise lounge, when he heard the sound of strings coming from inside the house. The same chords played over and over, reaching him across the hall. The door was ajar; Sho leaned back and craned his neck to peek through the gap, and saw the lights were on again in the living room.

Sho walked in quietly, almost on tiptoe, feeling suddenly curious. Nino was playing the guitar. He saw him from behind, sitting on the sofa, his body slightly hunched over the instrument and his bangs covering the visible part of his face to his cheeks. His hand let go of the guitar neck, and Sho stood still, waiting, observing as he took a pen and scribbled something on a piece of paper on the table.

Nino began to hum softly and, as his fingers moved to strum again on the strings, he muttered some lyrics.

“ _I learned the hard way, lost my path, ended in tears..._ ”

He hummed again and seemed to jump to a different part of the song, which seemed to be the chorus.

“ _But thank you, thank you, for showing me that I can try harder, that I don't want to lose again, no..._ ”

His voice faltered a bit in the last note, and he stopped. Sho took the opportunity to step into the room.

“Nino?” he said in a whisper, hoping that he wasn't bothering him.

“People don't know I can do music too,” Nino smiled in his characteristic way. “Until they ask me to sing for a movie and they all go crazy about it,” he joked. “But I won't become a singer and most of all I won't sing my own songs in front of anybody.”

Sho interpreted this as his way of saying that there were few people who had actually listened to him, and that he was lucky and even privileged to do so. It was a hobby, something he only did whenever he felt like it, and also —Sho peered over his shoulder and Nino put the music sheet away immediately— a way of expressing himself. He was actually surprised at how much he could tell about him now, compared to how clueless he had been the previous day.

“Can I sit down?” he asked shyly.

Nino nodded briefly.

He played a set of different songs, some of his own and some popular ones. Sho was really impressed at how talented he was; he had been taking piano lessons for several years, but he wasn't remotely as good as he was playing the guitar.

And his voice, his voice... it was so transparent and sincere Sho was deeply touched.

\---

  
That night, they switched sleeping places.

The bed was obviously more comfortable than the couch, but it was so hot upstairs. Sho had opened the window and drawn the curtains, in hope that a fine breeze would come in, but it was practically as hot outside.

Sho tossed and turned all the time, incapable to rest, even though he had somehow managed to fall asleep. His tank top was already thrown on the floor, as usual, this time together with his trousers. Sweat was sliding down his back. He was perspiring so much it felt like fingers running down his spine; warm, soft, wet fingers caressing his skin, like a constant tingling, unexpectedly pleasant.

He was back at the beach. This time, however, it was completely deserted. Sho was alone, lying on his towel, sunbathing. The light was so bright he could hardly open his eyes, and the heat was suffocating. He wanted to go into the water, but his body wouldn’t move.

Suddenly, he heard steps, and felt a body next to his, drawing closer, until their bare skins touched. It was almost unbearable, like embracing a fire; but, instead of pushing it away, Sho put his arms around it.

The next second, lips were pressed sloppily against his neck, his cheeks, and his forehead, leaving burning spots everywhere and making him dizzy and feverish. He half-opened his eyes for a second to discover it was Nino, who was now leaning forward to kiss him on the lips.

He woke up in that moment, finding Nino just like that, next to him in his bed, his face an inch apart from Sho’s.

“What—?!” he exclaimed, rapidly covering his body with the sheets. “What are you doing here, and why are you so close to me?”

Nino frowned and sat up, resting on his elbows. “What?”

“Enough with the joke, isn’t it?” Sho grumbled, rubbing his eyes and getting up. “Didn’t you get what you wanted yesterday?”

Nino stared at him, nonplussed, while Sho pulled on his t-shirt. It took a couple of minutes for him to come up with a response.

“Wait… do you really think I take all this as a game or something?”

“Y-You’re not serious about me, are you?” Sho said, skeptically. “I mean, after a couple of days—“

“So I can't be serious because I'm too straightforward, isn't that it?” Nino snapped in a cold voice Sho had never heard before. “Like I don't really care about your reaction and just do my thing when I feel like it.”

“No, that’s not…”

Sho took a step towards him, but Nino climbed out of bed and, after giving him a hurt and anxious look, made for the door.

“Don't worry. I will stop.”

Sho couldn't say anything else before he locked himself in the bathroom.

\---

  
Nino avoided him for the rest of the day.

Sho was divided as to what to do. On the one hand, considering that they were going back to their respective homes the next day, he wondered if there was any point in making up with him, if it was better to just let it be. But, on the other hand, even if they were most probably not going to see each other ever again, he wouldn't like to leave things like that. For some reason, it made him sad.

The main problem was, anyway, he didn’t really know why Nino was so mad at him. Hadn’t he admitted that he did all those things just to annoy his ex? Then why did he go into his bed in the middle of the night? Sho remembered about his dream and shivered. Had those kisses been real? Had he hugged him back in reality? If the answer was positive, what was all that about?

He walked up to Nino in the second floor balcony. He was leaning on the handrail, gazing at the forest and the sun slowly hiding behind the tree tops. Sho stood beside him, waiting for some sign that he had sensed his presence, but the actor ignored him.

“You know, you have a difficult personality," he said, hoping to get his attention.

“I’m often told that,” Nino replied, as cold as before. “People misinterpret my actions.”

“I’m sorry if I was one of those people," Sho apologized. "I didn't mean to."

“I know you didn’t,” Nino smiled gloomily. “But I thought you were different.”

“Different? How?”

“Ever since we bumped into each other, with your reactions, I realized you're an excellent person, Sho-san. Not anybody would have allowed everything like you did. You were afraid and curious at the same time; I bothered you at many moments but you were tactful enough not to hurt my feelings,” he explained, leaning to rest his chin on his arm.

Sho was surprised at his ability to read him, but he didn’t respond to his praise.

“I imagined it would be hard for you to accept me, but I didn't think you wouldn't even _believe_ me,” Nino muttered, turning to look at him reproachfully.

“What am I supposed to believe then?” Sho answered, starting to feel frustrated.

He really didn't know, why couldn’t Nino just tell him so they could make it up for once and for all?

“For heaven’s sake, have you ever paid attention to me? How can you be so thick?”

“Sorry?”

“I was serious right from the beginning!”

Nino had raised his voice, and Sho couldn’t help it either.

“Yeah? When, exactly? When you used me to piss your ex off?”

The actor snorted, glaring at him.

“All the time!”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Sho nodded wryly. “How could I not have noticed? Last night you were taking more pictures to send him, weren’t you?”

“Forget that shit!" Nino yelled, furrowing his brow. "I thought you had feelings for me too!"

“What?” Sho said in a much quieter voice, feeling a blow in his stomach. “Y-you—“

“Yes, as you haven’t been clever enough to guess, I like you!"

“No, no way,” Sho laughed nervously. “You’re just confused, you recently broke up with this guy and—“

“WHY DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND? I LIKE YOU! I’M TELLING YOU! WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?”

“DON’T SCREAM LIKE THAT AT ME! I’M NOT STUPID! I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SAYING! IT’S JUST TOO—“

“TOO WHAT?”

“I DON’T EVEN KNOW —WEIRD!”

“OKAY, I'VE HAD IT! I’M LEAVING!”

Nino hurried to the door, his fast steps creaking inside the house as he went down the stairs and out through the front porch. Sho stood in the middle of the balcony, blood rushing to his head. He clenched his fists and observed the actor as he walked down the path to the road, until he vanished under the leafy trees.

“FINE! NOW I CAN GET SOME REST AT LAST!” he shouted to the silent evening.

He ran inside the house, across the corridor, and slammed the bedroom door behind him, unable to hold his rage.

Was that his idea of being serious? Playing around with him until he got tired, then just leaving with no further explanation? How was Sho supposed to know all those looks, the contacts, the kisses, had that meaning? How could he respond to them, if he didn’t know?

He paced up and down, wiping the tears that blurred his vision. He started to see things under a different light, now, after he had already messed up. He searched in his memories of the last days and realized that, indeed, there had been times when Nino spoke seriously, but he had been too busy worrying over other matters to let it dawn on him.

 _“I actually mean it. As many people know and others suspect, I'm gay, and you happen to be my type.”_

 _“It's not a joke. At least what I'm saying to you is true.”_

 _“It's not that. Not at all.”_

Sho punched the door and felt his knuckles cracking.

 _“So this morning he called, and I was just telling him how lucky I am to share a house with this handsome guy who takes me on a ride now and then and has hard muscles and a wonderful ass.”_

 _“After today, I don't want you exposed like that anymore.”_

Why did he wait until the last moment?

 _“I imagined it would be hard for you to accept me, but I didn't think you wouldn't even_ believe _me.”_

Why had it been so hard for him to say it clearly before?

 _“Yes, as you haven’t been clever enough to guess, I like you!"_

 _“WHY DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND? I LIKE YOU! I’M TELLING YOU! WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?”_

Nino liked him, and Sho had hurt him without knowing. He felt so stupid, so angry, so disappointed, especially towards himself. Nino’s words had opened a hole in his chest, so deep and aching he didn’t know what to do. He would run after him, but he was too embarrassed and daunted to say anything; he didn’t think he would be able to look directly at his face.

 _"I thought you had feelings for me too!"_

That last night he had almost kissed him. Actually, in his dream, he wanted to do it. It felt good to stretch him in his arms, to feel his breath so close, the brush of his skin, the touch of his lips. And now, even if he had just been gone for several minutes, he was missing him.

He had been so blind, so late.

And now, what? What would he do when, the next morning, he went back to Tokyo, back to his usual life, and all this started turning into a sheer memory, a mere anecdote? Was everything bound to stop there? Was he never going to see Nino like that again? Had this been their last opportunity to make things right?

If it was like that, he thought, he'd rather forget everything right then and do as though nothing had ever happened between them. He began by opening the closet and taking Nino’s things out, thinking of just leaving them out at the garden so he didn’t have to see them anymore. He threw everything to the floor —all his clothes, his suitcase, even his guitar case.

That music sheet was under it.

Sho grabbed it without looking, not caring if he was crumpling it up. However, after hesitating for a second, he ended up reading it. On the top right there was a J, crossed out, and next to it, it said "Thank you".

Sho sat down on the bed, Nino's voice singing softly inside his head.

 _I learned the hard way, lost my path, ended in tears.  
I thought I loved you, but I was just in love with an idea,  
You and me, together, overcoming all this trouble.  
But you said “goodbye” and left my side._

Sho remembered the rhythm.

 _But thank you, thank you,  
For showing me that I can try harder,  
That I don't want to lose again, no…_

Another part was crossed out there, and Nino had written new lyrics using a different pen.

 _I’ll find love again and be happy._

 _Now everything is okay,  
Because he’s here beside me.  
We share everything, we laugh together.  
All these wounds, he's healing them._

Sho’s heart skipped a beat. There was no doubt he had composed this part the previous night, after the afternoon they spent together at the wharf.

 _Step by step, I’ll find myself again.  
There’s nothing I can’t do if he’s here,  
Nothing I’m not free to do.  
Once again, I’ve found a place to be._

 _Thank you…_

He couldn’t stop crying after reading this. He put the piece of paper aside and kneeled down on the floor to pick Nino’s stuff, now carefully folding the clothes and placing them inside the suitcase. After this he sat down and reread the incomplete song many times, wondering why he hadn’t showed it to him, why he had a lot of nerve for many things but had hidden something like this.

When he finished packing his own stuff, he had a headache, so he decided to go to sleep. But he still didn't manage to stop thinking about Nino. He wanted to see him so bad, to apologize and to tell him that he finally understood, that he knew how he felt and...

Instead of just thinking about what he would like to say, he got up and wrote it down.

\---

  
“Are you coming for lunch?” a voice said to his right.

Sho started in front of his computer screen; he turned his head to find his friend, Ohno Satoshi, looking as startled as him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, in a concerned tone. “You seem so distracted these days.”

“Oh, yes,” Sho smiled, "just a minute."

He took all the magazines and newspapers he had been consulting to make his report and piled them on his desk. On top of them, a cover showed “The 5 most influential young actors”. Ninomiya Kazunari was obviously in the picture. Sho had more or less gotten used to see his face everywhere, though that didn’t mean he wasn’t making an effort not to think about him, at least not as a person he had once met.

Ohno and Sho went to have lunch at the usual place. He was the only one who knew about what happened at the house, but he never talked about Nino if Sho didn't mention him first, which he never did. Ohno, however, was perfectly aware that his friend was in love and missed the actor more than he would admit in front of him.

“Hey, have you heard it?” one of their female coworkers came into the restaurant, panting, and told his friends. “Ninomiya-san is on a TV show now!”

“Eh? The actor?” a woman asked, shocked. “He hasn't been on TV for the past months! Is it an exclusive interview?”

Before the first woman replied, the bartender at the end of the room turned on the TV. Nino’s face appeared over Ohno’s head, and Sho couldn't help staring at him. There was a heading in the lower part of the screen: “Ninomiya Kazunari (28) talks about his love life!”

“ _So when did you stop going out with Matsumoto Jun?_ " the hostess said.

Nino smiled and touched his chin. " _It was around early June, though things hadn't been going smoothly for a long time_ ," he declared.

“Eh? That long ago?” another woman at the restaurant exclaimed. “We’re in November already!”

“ _Oh, and haven’t you met anybody recently?_ ”

Sho remembered about the pictures Nino’s fans had taken at the beach and flushed slightly. Ohno shook his head.

“ _I’ve just been hanging out with my friends, and that’s all_ ,” Nino explained. “ _Right now I don’t have time for anything else._ ”

The hostess nodded politely and gave some details about the movie Nino was working on and another one that had its premiere the next weekend. Then both Nino and her stood up and bowed to each other. The show credits started rolling from the right part of the screen.

“ _Thank you_ ,” Nino said to the camera, sending shivers down Sho’s back.

\---

  
It was a really busy day after that. Some serious traffic accident happened in a road at the countryside, and Sho was requested to search for the news of other accidents that happened in the same area before and make a comparison between the facts and the figures.

Luckily, he could make it in time to get in the last train home. The station was empty when he got off, except for a person standing at the opposite platform. There was a huge poster in the wall behind, showing Nino and a girl, both dressed in smart clothes. Sho was so used to walk past it he wasn’t even looking, until he noticed that person had the same haircut as Nino. He was thinking how often people copy their hairstyles from famous stars when the stranger lifted his head and revealed his face. Sho stood there, like glued to the ground, as Nino ran down some stairs and crossed under the tracks to appear right in front of him.

“Sho-san!” he exclaimed, holding him tightly.

Sho let go of his briefcase and held him back, feeling relieved for the first time in months, “Nino.”

“You’re so stupid,” Nino whispered against his shoulder. “I found your note last week.”

“I’m sorry,” Sho finally apologized. “I’m so sorry.”

“Stupid,” Nino repeated, laughing.

Sho laughed, too, before pulling apart to kiss him tenderly.

And this time, for real, he felt that he wasn’t mistaken.


End file.
